University of the Damned
by PrincessLeeLee7
Summary: The first semester of college isn't showing any promises for the gang. In fact, it's showing the exact opposite… Pure hopelessness. (Story based off of 80's 'munks, age progressed to 18).
1. Prologue

Summary: The first semester of college isn't showing any promises for the gang. In fact, it's showing the exact opposite… Pure hopelessness.

University of the Damned

Prologue

Brittany slipped on her pink hoodie, pulled up her track shorts, slid into her white Keds, snatched her duffle bag from the ground, and hauled ass out of her dorm

Not once did she look back.

The air was crisp, but the atmosphere was warm as she darted down the empty street and towards the dorm Alvin occupied. Sweat covered her face as her walking turned into a brisk jog, and once she heard the snapping of twigs off in the distance, she sprinted for her life through the campus. It was such a shame that Alvin lived on the opposite side of the enormous campus, or else she'd be home free by then.

Her feet carried her through parking lots with asphalts waiting to cave in, wooded areas with tree roots that reached her knees, and she danced her way through the campus's river. Boy, was the princess hot and irritated, to say the absolute lease.

She could see Alvin's dormitory tower in view, putting the extra charge in her energy to make it in one piece.

With all her might, Brittany burst through the entrance and hooked a right towards the elevators, and as she did so, a group of boys congregated by the entrance, and one narcissist of the group sneered a, "slow down pretty lady; won't want to wear yourself out for when I get to you tonight. Get with me and you can be hotter."

"Screw off!" she shouted remorselessly without breaking her stride.

She reached the elevators just as they were to close, hit the button for the seventh floor, and took that time to catch her quivering breath.

The doors opened with a _beep_ , and she pushed through and headed towards room 706. Like rapid fire, she knocked on the door until the door knob began to twist.

She stepped back to see a wide-eyed, hatless, topless, breathless Alvin in the doorway, his hand gripping the frame ever-so tightly. Brittany must admit, he looked good enough to eat, but at the moment, she knew it was the last thing that mattered.

"Oh my gosh, Alvin!" she exclaimed as she pushed past him and threw her duffle bag to the ground.

"Uh… Britt," he began with a tinge of annoyance in his voice. "I'm _very_ busy right now, if you catch my drift…"

"With what?!"

A petite female suddenly emerged from the bedroom with a hoodie that looked to be Alvin's wrapped around her breasts, her cheeks red and impatience in her eyes. "I see how it is. Bye Alvin," she snooted unsparingly, and she left like a ghost, slamming the heavy door behind her.

Alvin growled at Brittany before switching on the lights. "Uh, with _her_ , you dunce! I was busy with… whatever her name is!"

"Forget about her! I need to stay here!"

Alvin scoffed as he reached for his cap that sat on his desk and crossed his arms. "I'm not studying tonight! I don't study on Fridays!"

"That's not what I'm here for!"

Alvin checked her out from head to toe, legs wet and hairline drenched in sweat. His lips curled in disgust. "What's the matter with you? Why did you bring all of your stuff?"

"Alvin, I need to stay here for a while!"

A look of pure confidence, suaveness, and cockiness came over his expression. "Why, I'm flattered, Miss Brittany Miller."

Her dim eyes squinted as she brushed shoulders with "Romeo" and headed towards his couch that sat by the window and looked out onto the poorly lit campus. "Alvin, I'm serious! You were right… what they're doing on the eleventh floor isn't cool…"

A gasp escaped Alvin as he rushed to Brittany's side, taking her by her shoulder, digging his stare into her soul. "Did you go up there… like I asked you _not_ to?!"

"No!" she insisted, clearly offended. "But what they're doing… it's starting to affect all of us who leave in Stevenson Tower 2!"

"No way…"

"Way, Alvin! Everyone's been getting food poisoning, the smartest girl on my floor is failing her classes, and when you turn the water on, it comes out black! I haven't showered in days, and you know I'll absolutely _die_ without shampoo and conditioner! I'm Brittany Miller, damnit! I'm the hottest thing walking, and I wanna maintain that!"

"I don't wanna sound like Simon, but," Alvin gestured with a shrug. "I think those things can be explained."

"How so?!"

"The food hall might have sucky food, the girl is probably tweaking beyond belief, and you just need to complain to the tower manager about the water!"

Brittany hid her face in the palms of her hands and wept silently, and Alvin being Alvin, felt a wave of awkwardness taking over the ambiance. Assuring others in their time of need wasn't exactly his forte. "Al, that's what I've been telling myself, too. But… Sarah, a girl who lives on the fifth floor only eats what her parents send her, and only drinks water bottles. She's vegan and getting sick like the rest of us."

Nervousness took Alvin by a tight grip.

"The girl failing classes? Sure, it seemed normal at first until they kicked her outta here. She went from A's to F's in a week. How? How is that possible? No one knows."

He sighed with an uncomfortable smile.

"And the water… it's _always_ black…"

She hopped to her feet and paced the floor.

"And Alvin… this boy I was riding the elevator with who told me about everything on the eleventh floor, since he lives on that floor; he was so scared, he was shaking, and he said he didn't want to go up there, but that he needed his sleep… I haven't seen him since…"

Alvin rolled his eyes and gently sat Brittany into the couch. He arched his eyebrow and pondered at the drama queen… or so he assumed. He didn't want to admit that, quite possibly, she wasn't out of her mind. "Here, I'll be nice; get in the shower, and I'll make you coffee."

He started towards the bathroom before coming to halt. Turning on his heels, he faced the distraught Brittany; bags underneath her eyes, ice-blue eyes dimmed to gray, and her hair harbored split-ends up the wazoo, and what was the most frightening characteristic in the usually cheery, bodacious girl was the blue veins that protruded from her temples that have never been seen before. He felt sorry for her, but hated to get all gushy and nice, but it was Brittany; a close friend who seemed to be on her deathbed.

"Everything will be okay." He cracked a small smile, thinking twice about what he wanted to pass his lips. He let them anyway. "You're with me now. I gotchu."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Drool ran like a stream down his chin and formed a puddle upon his long-sleeved shirt, his fitted cap slumped across his eyes.

"Of course it's like Alvin to sleep," Brittany fumed from the back seat of the SUV. "We've only been driving for twenty minute."

"Well, Einstein here thought it would be a good idea to play videogames until three o'clock in the morning," Simon spewed as he slowly eased on to the highway heading northeast, not a cloud in the sky, the sun amply sharing its rays. He looked to the slumbering Alvin and grimaced as the puddle of saliva grew by the second. "Why does he have to drool?"

The others chuckled at the sneer, and just as they did, Alvin adjusted himself in his seat and rose up from his spot, yawning and stretching as the saliva comically hung from his chin. In the cloudiest voice, her uttered a, "are we there yet?"

"You wish!" the sassy Eleanor exclaimed with red cheeks. "We have some hours to go!"

"Si!" Alvin shouted bitterly with clamped teeth, placing a hand in roughly running it down his face. "When I said pick a university for all of us to attend that was far from home… I didn't mean travel from Los Angeles to CHICAGO!"

Simon smirked as he loosely gripped the wheel with a slick smile, eyeing the others in the back from his rearview mirror, to find that they were chuckling as well.

"Alvin, I'm gonna guess you didn't see the brochure Simon handed you, like… five months ago…" a giggling Theodore reminded swiftly.

The furious teen snatched his neck and eyed Theodore, deep into his green eyes. "What brochure…"

Theodore dug through his back pocket before retrieving a crumpled up brochure and handing it to Alvin, his laughs having yet to cease. "This brochure."

Alvin snatched it from his loose grip and wasted no time in reading what it contained, his eyes growing wide at just the mere introduction. "'Welcome to Northern… _Illinois_ … University. Home of the Huskies.' Oh shit! It says Illinois right here! I guess I was too excited to-"

"Actually read what school you're going to?" Simon finished with a scoff, and it was then that the SUV began to fill with pure laughter, faces turning red, bellies beginning to cramp. "Alvin, you wanted me to choose a college, and everyone in this van agreed… including you… and you don't even know what school you're going to… on _move-in day_!"

Alvin rolled his eyes, chucked the brochure out of the window, and fell back into his seat, wiping the long-forgotten glob of spit from his chin. "Ugh, this ride is taking _forever_! I ain't going if this is the case!"

"I thought you'd be excited to start classes, Alvin," a perplexed Jeanette couldn't help but to comment.

Every last one of them assumed the frisky Alvin was ready to start a new chapter in his life which included playing soccer at the collegiate level. Considering that he had been packed for nearly a month prior to move-in day, they all thought he had already taken flight.

Alvin scoffed as he dipped the bill of his cap over his eyes. "Start classes? Are you crazy, Jean?! I was just ready to get outta that house. Be free, and get all the hot chicks I want, and what not. Be in a frat! Go to parties! That kind of 'excited'."

Brittany grimaced before popping him atop his head, a small yelp escaping him. "You better put that face of yours in the books, unless you wanna do five years at this school!"

He moaned as he rubbed his head. "I can't argue with that…"

###

"So… all I have to do is go to all home football games… and I'm entered in a raffle to get a full ride scholarship?!"

Alvin's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree at the idea the group began to discuss – of many - and Simon replied by rolling his eyes. "For some reason, that sounds _extremely_ fishy."

"Well, hell! Why not try! Speaking of trying, try not to be a stick-in-the-mud like you were in high school!"

He held his stomach as he emitted his laughter.

"I'm taking you to at least one home game! Hell, I'll make you experience college like it's supposed to be experienced!"

"Alvin, please…"

"C'mon Simon!" Brittany cooed from the back. "It's college! It's supposed to be the best years of our lives! Live a little and stop being a nerd for five seconds!"

Simon mentality counted the seconds, ready to eject a smart-ass response until Jeanette piped in with, "yeah, Si. It should be fun. You never know unless you try!"

Simon peered through the rearview mirror to meet that lovely green-eyed gaze from the bespectacled beauty, and this girl alone was the only reason he would ever agree to be social. He bit his lip in admiration before slowly gazing over at Alvin, his eyes wide, hands shaking against the stirring wheel.

"F-f-fine. I'll do it."

Alvin slammed a heavy hand upon the unsuspecting shoulder that gave Simon a shiver. "College is supposed to be fun! You can learn and still enjoy everything! You'll love it bro! I promise!"

"Hopefully you're right…"


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

His eyes were growing heavier by the minute as the long stretch of road that laid before him seemed to be morphing; it would shrink, then stretch, and widen. His blue-eyed stare was motionless, his hands squeezing the wheel mile after mile. This didn't sit too well with Alvin being his copilot, to be completely honest.

"Uh, Si… are you okay there?"

His stare was still as a statue, that is, until Alvin took his fingers, snapped them in Simon's face, and brought him back into consciousness. Simon gave a jolt at the sudden action, his eyes widening as he looked to Alvin, a mixture of disbelief and annoyance written across his expression. "Alvin, what are you doing?"

The others exchanged nervous glances before directing their attention to Simon, who seemed all too confused.

"What the heck is wrong with you Si? Are you gonna crash or something?!" Brittany blurted as she frantically shook his shoulder.

"Might I suggest a theory?" Jeanette began as she adjusted her glasses.

"Which one is that?" Theodore couldn't help but to ask.

Jeanette cleared her throat for the explanation, hoping the others would understand what she had concluded. "By the symptoms Simon's display; blank stare, tensing up, confusion. I'd say he has highway hypnosis!"

And just as she figured before she even parted her lips, the others had not a single clue of what she was saying.

"Guys, he's tired!"

"Oh!" they bellowed collectively.

"Well, if he's tired," Eleanor began, "maybe someone else needs to take over before we end up in a ditch somewhere!"

"Totally," Brittany agreed full-heartedly. "He has been driving for eight hours now!"

The others agreed, and shockingly, especially for someone as such, Alvin offered to handle the wheel, flicking a hand in the air. "Now it's time for Greyhound Seville to take over!"

The others groaned at the cocky statement as Alvin directed the delirious Simon to the side of the road. They unbuckled their seatbelts and climbed out onto the pitch-black night.

"Don't worry, Si!" Alvin began with a tilted grin. "You're in fantastic hands now!"

As Alvin passed the blaring high beams of the SUV into the poorly lit night, he gazed up from his high-tops mid-stride, and in his peripheral, he saw something quickly scamper by, heels scoffing the ground and kicking up gravel, and just as quickly as it appeared, it had vanished without evidence.

"Woah," he muttered to himself as he stood dumbfounded; it was pitch black on an empty two-lane highway. What could it have been? Who could it have been?

Surely, it could have been an animal blindly making its way through the darkness, looking for a place to call home for the night. Plausible… if it were not for the fact that there were no brushes or any sign of green for miles.

Where did it disappear to?

And… what animal has a stride like a human out in the middle of the highway?

"Alvin, get in here!" miss pre-Madonna Brittany yelped from inside. "You're letting out the warmth! C'mon, get the bricks out of your pants!"

Alvin brought himself out of his thoughts, took several glances in the direction the 'something' had ran off to, and swiftly jumped in the driver seat. Unnerved, definitely, but wouldn't dare to let the others know.

"H-h-here we go guys…"

###

With sweaty hands choking the stirring wheel, Alvin focused his blue-eyed gaze to the road before him, perky and wide awake. He was relaxed for the most part, but for some odd reason, he couldn't shake what he barely saw.

What was it? Who was it? Why was 'it' there, in the middle of nowhere?

He looked through his rearview mirror hanging over him to see a slumbering Brittany, head propped up against the window, auburn hair running like a waterfall over the majority of her face, a soft snore escaping her rhythmically. Alvin smirked in admiration at the display and quickly directed his focus back to the road, seeing something he knew he would never forget.

Splitting the dotted line in the road, legs slightly spread apart, hand held in the 'halt' position, was a woman, eyes wide and haunting. It was wasn't just any woman, Alvin knew right away.

It was Brittany, auburn hair tied in its signature ponytail, eyes bluer than ever, her expression stern and assertive.

Alvin's reflexes laid a heavy foot upon the breaks, sending the others sitting in the back of the SUV forward and hitting the seats, and Simon, narrowly missing his forehead against the dashboard.

"Alvin, what the _hell_ is wrong with you?!" a clearly agitated Brittany spazzed as she knocked his cap from his head. "You coulda _killed_ us!"

The wide-eyed teen didn't pay the ranting any mind, for all he could do was stare in the face he saw in the road. He knew confidently, at that very moment, having a better look, thanks to the high beams; it was Brittany, hand held as if to stop them. She simply stood, unmoving, eyes not blinking once.

The others scolded Alvin as well, and just as he couldn't take anymore from them, he belted a heavy, "Shut up! Don't you see her in the road?!"

"See who?!" Theodore asked as he scanned the perimeter of what laid before them. "No one's there! You're just tired!"

"I've only been driving for an hour and a half! No way I'm tired! She's standing right in front of the SUV!"

"Who is?" Jeanette asked as she rubbed the side of her face that hit the seat.

"Brittany!"

All eyes slowly drifted to Brittany, validating that she was not physically in front of the vehicle, coming to the conclusion that Alvin had indeed, gone nuts.

"Guys…" Eleanor spoke softly, hand quivering as she raised a pointed finger. "Y-y-you guys don't see her?"

"Aw, Ellie, not you, too!" Simon spewed with disappointment, hand slapped against his forehead. "You two are simply delirious! No one's in front of us at this very moment!"

Alvin and Eleanor exchanged sickening glances, gazes talking wildly before putting them to the front.

She was still there.

"Brittany's right in front of us… and Eleanor can totally back me up…"

There she stood, unmoving.

"Alvin, please!" Brittany moaned before falling back into her seat. "I just want to make it to the university… in one piece!"

For a final time, Alvin looked to Eleanor for confirmation, and a validation of what they saw was needed as well; however, needless to say, cliché, Brittany, who stood in front of the SUV… was gone.

Vanished without a trace.

Theodore, placing a reassuring hand upon Alvin's shoulders, declared. "I-I-I think I'm gonna drive now…"


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The sun began to peak over the horizon in hues of yellow and orange; it was something worth admiring while it was present. Theodore, who was beginning to push his share of eight hours' worth of driving, reached over and took Eleanor's hand into his, seeing as she was just as wide awake as he was.

"Having fun?" he asked with his brightest smile.

"Of course! I love road trips!" she replied as she squeezed his hand.

Through the rearview mirror, Theodore could see a slumbering Jeanette resting on Simon's shoulder as he read one of his science magazines, and as for Alvin and Brittany? On their phones… as usual.

Theodore leaned in towards Eleanor and whispered, "What do you think they're doing on their phones?"

She giggled as she cuffed her hand over her mouth and replied, "Texting each other, obviously! When she types something and finishes, she puts her phone down, and coincidentally, Alvin picks up his phone! A vicious cycle, if you ask me!"

"Nice observation!"

A dense silence fell over the group for quite some time as the sun rose higher above the horizon as time seemed to zip pass.

A bored Alvin suddenly spat;

"Do you guys think there're like… hot chicks in college?"

"Alvin, shut up!"

"Hey Britt, it's a legit question! Why, someone like _me_ needs the hottest chick in the land! See how good-looking I am?"

She rolled up her magazine and swatted him across the head. "You won't be good-looking once I'm done with you; you'll only have your personality, and even _that_ sucks! So I guess you'll be SOL!"

"What?!"

The two went back and forth with their insults, but their siblings weren't bothered in the least. Better having Alvin occupied with something other than talking about the 'thing' they encountered hours before. Alvin and his wild thoughts were the last thing they needed to hear.

Eleanor sat slumped in the front passenger seat, her legs kicked up on the dashboard, window rolled down, and her blonde hair lashed about across her face.

"Theodore, how are you holding up?" she asked as she poked a single finger into his arm.

He chuckled before putting the SUV into cruise control. "Pretty well! I'm surprised I don't feel so tired!"

The feuding friends' argument came to a pause, and Brittany angrily slumped in her seat, arms crossed over her chest. Her phone suddenly buzzed at her hip, and she was quick to answer the text.

" _Hey… wanna make out at the next stop? 3_ "

She lifted her gaze to the back of Alvin's head, who sat motionless. She couldn't help to admit that she was blushing the brightest red her face could produce.

" _Okay fine…"_

"Uh-oh!" a sudden call came from the front of the SUV.

Simon lifted his gaze from his magazine to see a startled Theodore, looking over the steering wheel, eyeing the speedometer closely. "Theodore, is everything okay up there?"

"Well…"

"Well what?" Eleanor asked as she took a peak pass the steering wheel for herself.

Theodore bit his lip, turning it a soft pink as he hesitated to hand over the bad news. "Since the oil light just came on, and we're slowing down pretty fast… I'd say we have a leak."

Alvin shot up in his seat and eyed the dashboard with irritation. "So, what now?"

Simon's fingers raced against the screen of his phone, and he announced. "There's a mechanics close by. They'll know what to do, for sure!"

"How far is it away?

"A solid mile and a half…"

Alvin's face contorted in the upmost pout, a low growl escaping him. "Oh no! I'm not pushing this hunk of medal for a mile and half! No sir, not happening!"

###

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it fellas?"

With looks of exhaustion and irritation plastered on their faces, Alvin and Theodore rounded the front of the SUV, wiping sweat dripping from their faces.

"Riveting," Alvin spat sarcastically. "I recommend everyone push a useless SUV for a mile and half in sweltering weather whilst being hungrier than a hostage and having to piss like a racehorse at the Kentucky derby being chased by a glue truck… no, it wasn't bad in the least, Simon…"

Theodore took several breaths before spewing, "What he said…"

The girls sprang from the back seats and made their way to the boys' side.

"Here's some water!" Eleanor offered as she tossed them to the three.

Alvin stood straight and eyed the mechanics shop just ahead. "At least we made it…" He leaned against the hood and chugged his water bottle with appreciation and wiped the sweat from his face.

"Let's just hope the problem can be fixed quickly," Jeanette slipped with hands folded behind her back.

"You got that right! Hopefully we aren't late to move in," Eleanor added with raised 'brows.

###

As the boys pushed the SUV in the appropriate place inside the shop – with help from the owner of the establishment – the mechanic, Charles, reassured the group. "The problem will be fixed under two hour's tops, promise."

Simon stuck around as the others ventured their way across the street to a nearby gas station – with great luck – the take care of what they needed to.

"So where are you kids heading off to? Ya'll are damn near a mile away from entering Colorado and your license plate says California!"

Simon smiled with a chuckle as he held out his hand with the money in his palm. "Approximately an hour away from Chicago. We're starting school there."

"Mind me asking what school?"

"Northern Illinois University, sir."

The man… he seemed to pause where he stood, and his face grew pale in an instant, and having seen this going on before his very eyes startled Simon like something vicious. The man staggered back before turning his cap backwards upon his head, wiping the sweat that formed underneath his rugged neck. "NIU, huh?"

"Yes sir…"

"You know what?" Charles suggested as he pushed Simon's palm back against his chest. "The repairs are on the house… you're gonna need that money for more important things…"

"If you don't mind me asking…"

"That money will save your asses up there."

Simon's face contorted in the upmost confusion as he slowly took the money and backed away from the counter, his eyes glued to the mechanic the entire time. "I'm not sure I'm catching your drift…"

"Son, NIU is no laughing matter; forget about the crippling debt you get after you graduate, but the university itself…"

Simon adjusted his glasses, waiting for a further response.

"You see, stories from students who've attended that hellhole have been some of the worse stories I've ever had the displeasure of listening to. Young adults shouldn't go through half the shit I've heard in my days…"

"With all due respect, sir, but I've done my research before applying. I've seen nothing of the sort while doing so."

"What better knowledge can you get than hearing it from someone who's actually seen it all?"

It was then that a scrawny looking male rounded the corner from the back, and the first thing Simon noticed about this person was his sunken eye sockets, dark and depressing. He gave an internal jerk.

Simon scrunched his face as he settled himself against the doorway of the tiny office, arms crossed tightly. "Continue…"

###

"I kinda forgot how soft your lips are," his suave voice soothed whilst latching on to the pink, plump lips before him as he held her close, comfortably situated behind the car shop. He gently snagged her bottom lip with his teeth and gave it a gently tug before squeezing her closer to his body.

Brittany chuckled before pushing herself away and stepping back. "Okay Romeo, too close for comfort!"

"Aw, c'mon Britt, it's been forever!" Alvin suggested as he shoved his hands into his denim pockets. "We're just having fun!"

"Go have fun with some 'hot chicks' in college!" she pouted as she swung away from him, hands rested on her cocked hips. The things Alvin let pass his lips almost always tempted Brittany to punch him square in his jaw. Hot chicks in college, who does he thinks he is, she thought bitterly.

"Jeez Britt, I didn't think you took that so seriously!" Alvin attempted to sway as he took her by her shoulders, his cheeks red from his laughter. "We're friends with benefits. _You_ set those boundaries, and now you're worried I'll hook up with someone?"

He turned Brittany to face him, a smile casted across his face that made her secretly swoon.

"You're a wish-washy little thing," he commented as he lifted her chin and pecked her lightly on the cheek, her body heat casting itself across his lips, "but I don't mind it…"

As Alvin swept shoulders with the head-over-heels Brittany and turned the corner of the building, a cold burst of wind swept passed him, his goosebumps flaring upon his arms. He stopped in his tracks and looked to his feet where a slip of paper conveniently sat. He stooped down and glanced at the writing, seeing it was a mere cell-phone number. He picked it up with caution as if the tiny piece of paper would explode if he made any sudden movements. With several glances over his shoulders, Alvin slipped it in his back pocket and made his way to find the others.

As he rounded the corner, a seemingly startled Simon hurriedly popped up, a sudden smile placed upon his face. "Uh… problem's fixed! Just a busted pipe or something like that…"

Alvin squinted his eyes, but gave no rebuttal. His behavior was strange, to say the absolute least, but what was on his mind was getting back on the road, exhaustion coming over him. "Sweet…"


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Alvin strutted his way back towards the car shop, hands shoved in his pockets, ready to head back out on the road.

"Hey Alvin!"

Alvin whirled around to face the voice that called his name. Eleanor was suddenly spotted running from the gas station and quickly caught Alvin by the shoulder, panting slightly. "Alvin, you'll never guess what I found!" she exclaimed with eyes full of wonder. She hesitated to start, her findings bewildering beyond belief. "Do you remember… seeing Brittany that night?"

A sigh of relief escaped Alvin as he took Eleanor by the arm and dragged her away towards another store just next door to the car shop. "Dear God, yes!" he exclaimed in a hushed whisper, grabbing his chest as he fell against the cold brick wall. "I seriously thought I had gone crazy!"

"What was that?!" Eleanor asked as she ran her fingers through her golden locks. "I've never… in my life… seen something so out there!"

"Ellie… do you have something to show me? Does it connect?"

"Almost forgot!" With all the excitement, who could remember anything? She pulled out her phone from her pocket and shoved the tiny screen in Alvin's face, a website already pulled up from the internet browser. "So, apparently, according to this website, we saw something too wild to comprehend."

Alvin's eyes gazed over the screen before he spat, "What's a doppelganger?"

"It's an entity," she began in her softest voice. "It looks like a real person, like a twin, but… they're not physical! Like… a ghost, but… more complicated."

With a look that read sheer confusion, Alvin handed the phone back to Eleanor and cocked his head to the side. "Why did we see what we saw that night?"

A look of dread came over Eleanor as she twirled her hair into her tiny fingers. "Well, according to an old folklore, if Brittany would have saw what we saw that night… bad things might have happened to her…"

Alvin wrinkled his nose and turned from Eleanor and continued his way back to the car shop. "I don't hear you, Ellie! La la la la LA!"

Eleanor should have known; it was always like Alvin to never have an open mind. Sure, what they were talking about was pretty far-fetched, but what other explanation did they have; they both saw another Brittany that wasn't their Brittany. And the way she stood in front of the SUV that night; she was still, and she never once blinked, and she stood as if… to stop them from something. And before anyone could say another word, the other Brittany disappeared.

Where could they turn?

"Alvin, this is serious!" Eleanor reached as she jogged her way to catch up to him. She caught him by the shoulder again and forced eye contact.

Alvin turned on his heels with a fiery glare in his eyes. "Eleanor, you're basically telling me that if Brittany saw Brittany, then bad things would have happened to Brittany! This is all giving me a headache! Too confusing! I'm just trying to go to school, get hot chicks, play loads of soccer, _maybe_ get black-out drunk once in a blue moon, but that's it! No entities or ghosts for this guy!"

Eleanor crossed her arms with the cockiest smile smearing itself across her face as she eyed Alvin from head to toe. "So, you're not gonna help me figure this out?"

"No way in hell!" Alvin declared as he continued his way on back. "Nothing in the world will change my mind! I don't deal with paranormal!"

Eleanor scoffed as she blurted, "Not even for Brittany?"

Alvin's sudden halt kicked up dust at his feet, a shiver rushing up and down his spine. Somehow, Eleanor always knew what soft spots to hit when it came to Alvin, even though he was far from vulnerable. He gazed over his shoulder and cut his eyes in annoyance. With a hesitant sigh, Alvin hissed through clamped teeth, "Fine…"

###

"So… what do we do?"

Eleanor gazed at her phone, the light illuminating across her face as she scrolled through the website. "Not much. But look at these stories similar to what happened to us!"

She carefully handed over the phone as the two stood huddled behind the SUV, the others still occupying the gas station for a decent meal.

"See," she pointed, "this person saw their doppelganger while she was at the store. It says that it followed her and wouldn't stop staring, but after a while, it disappeared…"

"So?"

"So… she got in a near-fatal car accident just hours later…"

Alvin emitted the heaviest gulp before shoving the phone back in Eleanor's direction. "This is crazy! So, it's like an omen if she sees her doppel-whatever?"

Eleanor nodded slowly. "Hopefully… she never sees it…"

It was then that Alvin's eyes widened like no other at the terrifying thought that suddenly latched on to his mind. Omens, in his experiences he somehow find himself in, meant something terrible was going to ensue. Nobody but he and Eleanor saw what they saw, and by doppelganger's definition, anyone to lay their eyes upon the entity meant pure travesty… right? "But wait…" he began as he eyed Eleanor with the widest blue eyes. " _We_ saw it…"

Eleanor couldn't even half-way consider Alvin's assumption until a blaring horn deafeningly pierced their ears. Their eyes darted from every which direction, trying to find the source of the noise. Just down the road, a delivery truck came barreling down with one tire busted, the driver frantically trying to keep the huge hall under control.

And Alvin could see where it was heading towards.

His quick reflexes allowed him to take Eleanor by her shoulders and rush the two out of the trucks path, and just as they dodged it, the truck plowed into a strip mall beside the mechanics shop, smoke beginning to fill the area like foreboding thunderstorm. The piercing screams of shoppers from the strip mall began to fill the air as well, running amuck and sprinting out of the stores.

"Ellie," Alvin began with a quivered voice as he laid to the ground, up right and shaking. She laid next to him, on her stomach, her face red and filled with terror. "We might have a problem."

"You don't say…"


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Alvin and Eleanor stood to their weary feet, dusting the dirt from their clothes, limbs shaking about.

"Ellie, I'm really trying to chalk this up to being a coincidence… but this is ridiculous!"

Eleanor stood speechless, unmoving as she watched the flames spread throughout the truck that sat plowed in the strip mall that had all of the potential in the world of killing them. They could have died, easily, but, by the grace of Alvin, the two were able to tell all.

"Alvin… what do we do? I don't want to scare them!"

"Scare who?"

"Our siblings!"

"Then we can't tell a soul!" he blurted as he took Eleanor by the shoulder, leading her away from the sight of the accident. "We can talk our faces blue, but they won't believe a damn thing we have to say! They didn't believe us that night we saw 'Brittany', so what makes you think they'll believe this?!"

Eleanor was disappointed, no doubt, but she knew Alvin was right. Honestly, Eleanor could barely believe it herself.

What was suddenly happening to the group?

A clutter of footsteps could soon be heard, and Alvin and Eleanor looked ahead to find it was their siblings running towards them, fear plastered on their faces.

"Oh my gosh!" Brittany screamed, her breathing labored. "We saw all of that! Are you two okay?!"

"To be honest," Simon began calmly, adjusting his glasses upon his face. "I was almost for sure-"

"Jeez, Si, not the time," a hushed whisper escaped Jeanette as she gently nudged him.

"Eleanor, are you hurt?" Theodore asked as he carefully examined Eleanor's physical state. He suddenly found a large scar covering her elbow, soaked with blood. He took her by the hand, beginning to pull her towards the gas stations. "Let's get you a wrap for that!"

Alvin lowered his head, shaking it about, rubbing his temples, trying to clear the horrific memory.

"Ya know, Alvin, I don't usually thank you… but thanks for saving my sister…"

Through his thinking, Alvin shot his gaze up to a blushing Brittany, her gaze upon her shoes. Alvin blushed as well, kicking the rocks at his feet. He scoffed with a slick smile. "It's nothing, really… I am a super hero, after all."

Brittany rolled her eyes with a smile of her own, nudged him in the arm, and proceeded towards their vehicle.

He slickly watched her backside before turning on his heels into the opposite direction, only to collide into Simon, who seemed slightly shaken.

"Woah Simon, you alright there?"

Simon, with bulging navy-blue eyes, nodded his head with a weak smile. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

The bespectacled teen hated to admit that Alvin may not have been too crazy after all…

"We better get a move on!" Simon exclaimed, forcing excitement in his voice. "We'll miss move-in day at this rate!"

He jogged off, leaving Alvin confused. "By the way, how much did it cost to fix that hunk of junk?"

Simon whirled around, continuing in his direction, moving backwards. "Not much. Now let's go!"

Alvin narrowed his gaze at Simon as he hesitated to follow Simon back to the SUV.


	7. Chapter 6

**You guys have no idea how much I appreciate the feedback I'm receiving! I'm sorry for updating at odd intervals, but I promise I'll try my best to do better!**

Chapter 6

With hands gripped tightly on the steering wheel, the blue-eyed splendor opted to drive some odd hours before switching off with another from the group. At this point, Brittany was more than determined to make it to the university, to start a new chapter in her life as a freshman in college.

In her mind, everything was flawless… too flawless…

"Britt… your driving kind of sucks," Alvin commented from the seat behind Brittany's, kicking a foot upon the seat's shoulder as he watched Brittany ride the white dotted line for some miles.

"Yeah, but at least I'm not hallucinating!" she shot back with a sharp laugh.

The others couldn't help but to laugh right along; that is, excluding Eleanor, who seemed to be the only person to believe Alvin thus far.

"Whatever," he spat with a roll of his eyes.

"How long 'til we get there?" Theodore asked as he poked his head up from his phone. "I'm starving!"

Simon sighed as he eyed Theodore, his gaze full of annoyance. "Theo, you should have eaten when we stopped _five hours_ ago."

"Well, I wasn't too hungry then…"

"Can you hold out for another few hours?" Simon pleaded with wide eyes. "At this rate, we'll miss move in day, and might even miss classes!"

Theodore smirked. "Fine, but I choose where we eat next!"

"And if you must know," Simon began as he readjusted his wrist watch. "We have seven hours left…"

The next two hours seemed to rush past as the gang kept themselves occupied with social media, books, and even a crossword puzzle or two. No matter what, however, Alvin couldn't shake the feeling. What feeling some may ask?

Dread.

Pure, foreboding dread.

It nauseated him to the point of skipping out on food at various rest stops. He couldn't release himself from the feeling, and it was becoming agitating, to say the least. All he could think about was the thing he saw in the middle of the road that night. It looked like Brittany, right down to her signature auburn hair tied into a ponytail; however, no one else saw the being, making it appear as though his sanity fell off the deep end. And that truck; it had all the opportunity in the world to kill Eleanor and himself had Alvin not thought swiftly.

He figured it was all coincidence. Yeah. Nothing but coincidence, his mind playing tricks. Maybe he was just nervous about the university and what it had to hold. Yeah, that's right.

That's all it was.

Suddenly, he felt a soul-shaking yank to the right of him, pulling him from his drowning thoughts.

It was Eleanor… but her wide, brown eyes were fixated outside her window, and as she held Alvin by the sleeve, he could tell she was violently trembling; seizure-like, almost.

"Alvin…" she whispered as she pulled him closer. "Look…"

Alvin unbuckled his seatbelt and scooted his way towards Eleanor and peered out. All he saw was lack of vegetation, the bright, warming sun sitting in the sky, and… was that a tumble weed and cacti? She urged him to look closer, and that's when he saw it…

It was Brittany again.

The entity stood at the side of the road, blue eyes glaring, stance – beholding. The gut-wrenching part? Her menacing smile that exposed sharpened teeth, and she held a hitch-hiker's thumb high in the sky, as if attempting to catch a ride, and just as quickly as they saw her, they drove right on pass, leaving the image imprinted in their memory.

With labored breathing, Alvin snatched his gaze from the window to the driver seat only to see Brittany jamming out to number one hits over the radio with Eleanor in the front passenger.

There she was, not on the side of the road, but driving, where she should be.

And nobody else noticed.

Alvin looked to Eleanor to see her face had flushed of all color as she loosened her grip on Alvin's crewneck. She shook her head slowly, still gazing out the windowpane as if the entity would rear its ugly head once more.

Neither knew what to say; they knew their siblings wouldn't believe a word they had to say…

Maybe they'd become believers once they noticed the speeding semi-truck barreling towards them. On the wrong side of the road.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

He snatched off his seatbelt and lunged for the steering wheel in attempt to dodge the oversized haul that seemingly wanted them off the road. Screams filled the SUV as Alvin veered off the road into a nearby ditch, busting a single headlight on impact, dust dressing the air and unwelcomingly filling their lungs.

And then… silence.

Silence…

That is, until Brittany let off the heaviest sigh possible as smoke began to pour from the engine.

"Al…" she began ever-so calmly. Too calmly. "Are there some deep-rooted issues that need to come to light?"

"What do you mean?" he asked frantically. "I just saved you all! Did you not see that semi heading towards us?!"

Alvin looked to everyone in the truck, and like before, it seemed that only Eleanor was on his side, for her brown-eyed stare was full of hopelessness and disappointment.

But why?

"Alvin, what semi are you talking about?" Simon piped in as he took off his own seatbelt and exited the vehicle. "We were driving along fine until you had your millionth meltdown!"

No way.

No way in hell.

Alvin threw himself out into the open air and ran up the ditch to the side of the road, only to see no signs of a semi ever existing, to his ultimate dismay. The others followed suit.

"Alvin, this is starting to get out of hand," Theodore spoke up, worry coating his words. "What's really going on? Do you not want to go to school with us?"

"Better question," Brittany began, "are you trying to kill us?!" she exclaimed as she began to beat on Alvin's chest with her tiny fists.

Alvin looked to Eleanor once more, but decided not to throw her under the bus he found himself in; he felt as though it would only make the situation worse and add little to no credibility to what he said.

"Guys, it's nothing like that!"

"Have you been getting enough sleep?" Jeanette asked as she dusted the debris from her bright-blue jeans. "First you see 'Brittany' in the middle of the road, and now this?"

"And what do you have to say, Ellie?" Brittany asked with a hand to her cocked hip. "Since you and Alvin seem to be siding with each other, what did _you_ see?!"

Her face blushed the deepest red as she fumbled with her manicured fingers, "I saw you on the side of the road…" she mumbled inaudibly.

"You two are something else, ya know?" Simon cut in as he paced the side of the road, the sun beating upon the group, sweat-covered foreheads among them, the wind lashing about against their beings. "This is perfect; the SUV is seemingly totaled, and it's all because you two keep seeing these 'apparitions' no one else is witnessing. What do you two have to say about this?!"

Ever-so suddenly, the dusty ground beneath them began to rumble, the rumbling gradually intensifying by the second. Then, just behind them, an SUV similar to the one the gang acquired zoomed on pass.

And…

Heading towards the unsuspecting vehicle was a grungy-looking semi heading straight towards them, perhaps a distracted driver, and before anyone could react, the impact was made, the SUV exploding into a million pieces, the occupants… well…

The gang quickly dodged the flying parts of the demolished SUV, and once they were sure the travesty had ended, they all stood to their feet. At that point, all they could do was eye the tragic accident, the driver of the semi, stumbling out, tears evident on his face as he exclaimed, "What have I done?!"

They were speechless.

Not one word could escape them as they stood frozen, dumbfounded.

"That was a warning," Eleanor mumbled as she whipped out her smartphone to call authorities.

"Dear God," proclaimed Simon as he snatched off his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Oh dear God…"

Brittany let out a sharp shriek as her knees buckled beneath her, her hands covering her now pale cheeks. "Oh my gosh, that coulda been us! Unless-" she paused abruptly, snatching her head to look Alvin up and down as if he were an extraterrestrial being. "Alvin… b-b-but… h-h-how… how did you know-"

"Don't ask me a thing!" he spat hatefully, turning his back to her. "Ellie actually believes me; the rest of you thing we're crazy!"

"What's going on?" Theodore chimed in. "This trip has been nothing but weird… and I'm still starving!"

"Yeah, let's think about our next meal, Theo; a family didn't just meet their demise seconds ago!" Alvin snapped as the wails from the semi-truck driver grew frightening. "Every time we've seen this… this thing that looks like Brittany, something terrible has happened just moments after; we saw 'Brittany' on the side of the road just before I saw… or I thought-"

"Wait, are you trying to say you had a vision?!" Jeanette questioned as she adjusted her glasses to the bridge of her nose. "No way. That's not possible. Just coincidence…"

"Coincidence?!" Alvin retorted as he slowly approached her. "I've never believed in this kinda stuff until that night I saw 'Brittany' in the middle of the road! No one else but Eleanor and I saw it, but I'm supposed to brush these things off?" He paused, ripping his cap from his head and throwing it to the ground, frustration getting the best of him. "Ellie and I almost became roadkill back at that rest stop to fix the SUV, and now, we dodge death, and I'm supposed to chalk this up to be a big fat coincidence?! Get real!"

He folded his arms in a pout and rapidly tapped his foot.

Flashing blue and red lights in abundance quickly appeared over the bright horizon, and, for now, at least, they had no choice in the matter to call everything thus far a sickening, unfortunate coincidence.

Such a hard pill to swallow.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"I have not a clue what to do now," Simon uttered as he ran his fingers through his mane as he watched the police escort the – sadly – drunken truck driver in handcuffs to the squad car, and all the six could do was watch on in pure disbelief. Of course, everyone knows what happen to family of four occupying the unrecognizable SUV of their own. "This cannot be happening right now…"

"Listen," Alvin encouraged as he raced to their SUV and popped the hood open and gazed inside, "maybe it's just a busted headlight, and we can still drive this baby to school!" Alvin had all the confidence in the world he could amply share with the discouraged.

"In what world, Al," Brittany remarked with a roll of her eyes. "In your fantasy world?"

"No, in this world," he replied calmly as he made his way to the driver side and took the keys away from Brittany's tight grasp and made his way to start of the vehicle.

To their ultimately relief, the SUV turned over effortlessly, and a collective sigh escaped the group.

The group stood in awkward silence until Eleanor chimed in, "Okay guys, we've been talking to the police for at least two hours; let's hit the road before we miss everything!"

"Well…" Simon suddenly moaned as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I guess we should…"

"You guess?" Jeanette chimed in with shock written across her face. "What's the matter?"

"Yeah," Theodore cosigned, "you seem a little flustered!"

Simon was fearful of mentioning the story that was told to him back at the mechanics; he didn't want to seem as if he were siding with Alvin and Eleanor, but he hated – from the bottom of his heart – to admit that… maybe the pair didn't seem too crazy after all. He chuckled lightly and waved a hand in the air. "Sorry, just beginning-of-the-schoolyear butterflies. Let's head out…"

For some odd reason, after two hours of driving, the positive vibes made their way back to the group of friends, smiles all around, excitement filling the air. Weird, considering everything that has happened thus far, but no one really questioned it. The music was blaring from the speakers, and all was perfect in their world, minus the missing headlight, obviously.

However, …

In the back of Jeanette's mind, she couldn't shake Simon's reaction; such a timid reaction that she was not used to coming from him. So, she decided to confront him about it through text.

" _Hey Si_ ," she texted swiftly.

He felt his phone buzz at his hip, and he carefully pulled it from his sweatpants pocket and:

" _Hey!_ "

" _Hey… are you okay?_ "

" _Never felt better!_ "

" _Are you sure? Because you seem a little on edge…_ "

Simon thought about his next reply, and he slowly typed away, " _On edge? Never._ "

Jeanette rolled her eyes, irritated that he could make up such a… lie. " _Simon Seville, I know you more than you think. What's wrong?_ "

She dropped her phone in her lap and waited for a reply, and once she realized twenty minutes had gone by, she looked to see if Simon had carelessly fallen asleep. Nope. Eyes wide with his phone's light illuminating his face, and his fingertips were racing by what she could see. She'd be lying if she said she weren't nervous about his reply.

Suddenly, her phone gently vibrated upon her lap, and she read:

" _Jeanette, I know this may seem far-fetched, but… when we stopped at the mechanics, I was shooting the breeze with him until I told him what school we were headed to. Right now, please believe me when I say… this might not be a good idea anymore. I spoke to Charles' friend who had went to the school over a decade ago, and he spoke of his experience, and the man said not a good word about it. Now bear with me. As a matter of fact, his situation sounded extremely like ours. You know, weird visions and apparitions that he tried to brush off, and once the semester began, things took a turn for the worse…_ "

Jeanette turned to face him with worry in her eyes, and he stared back intently, shrugging his shoulders. "It should be fine," he spoke in a low whisper that was practically drowned out by the music. "I think he was trying to scare me!" he brushed off with a charismatic chuckle.

"You sure?" Jeanette asked with wide eyes.

For reassurance, Simon took a chunk of Jeanette's brown hair and placed it behind her ear and smiled lovingly. She smiled back, her cheeks blossoming pink. "Everything will be fine…"


End file.
